Doll walker unit



Feb. 9, 1965 R. GARDEL 3,168,794

DOLL WALKER UNIT Filed July 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS Feb. 9, 1965 R. GARDEL DOLL WALKER UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1960 INVENTQR BY l {l/fwn r MMX ATTORNEYS 'in height,

United States Patent Opiilce 3,168,794 "Patented `Feb. 9,V 1965 3,168,794 DLL WALKER UNIT Robert Garde 11 Riverside Drive, New York, NY. Filed .luly 5, 1966i, Ser. No. 40,655 6 Claims. (Cl. I6- 149) which each leg can be moved to a kicking or sitting position.

Another object is to provide such a mechanism in which each leg is snap-litted into a body opening as the sole connection between the leg and the body, and in which the mechanism parts permitting movement between standing or walking position and kicking or sitting position are carried entirely by the leg to which they relate.

The mechanism has proved to be particularly suitable dolls if desired.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a front elevation of a doll body and legs, parts being broken away and parts being in section;

FIG. 2 represents a vertical section of FIG. l, parts being broken away FIG. 4 represents a detail perspective view of the rocker, walking levers and part of the rocker rod; and

section. Each leg 6, 7 has at its top a correspondingly slanted circular opening, around which is an outwardly projecting annular lip or bead 8, forming with the adjacent surface of the leg a V-shaped groove complemenpermit the lips or beads 8, 9 to be snapped into place in the body openings, with the edges of the openings engaging in the grooves on the legs, but this operation requires considerable force and, conversely, the legs cannot easily be snapped out of their engagement with the body. The tit is easy but not loose, so that the legs can be moved readily to desired positions but do not wobble.

The walking mechanism includes, for each leg, a metal disc 10 having a diameter greater than that of the opening in the leg but no greater than that of the lip or bead (8 or 9), the disc having a plurality of fingers l1 stamped so as to project material of the leg around the periphery of said opening, as clearly shown in FIG. l. A lever 12,

part l2 lying parallel to the plane of the disc 10 and an upper part 12 extending in a substantially vertical direction, is connected to the disc by means of a pin 13 2 having a head 13 on one end and having its other end staked or otherwise secured in a hole 14 in the center of the disc. The pin passes through a hole in the part 12 of the lever 12 lying between the lever 12 and the positions of the leg,

eg., standing as explained below.

A spring l surrounds the pin 13, bears against the under side or the head 13 and urges the lever l2 and washer l5 strongly toward the disc 10.

The vertical parts 12 of the levers sides of the front-to-back vertical median plane of the concave plate 26 having a hole 26 receive the upper en 21 on each disc bear against the rear edge of the part 12 12, as shown in FIG. 2.

In operation, it will be evident that the interconnection of the legs through discs 10, levers 12 and rocker 20 motion given the other leg, as is customary in walking mechanisms of this type. Either leg, or both legs, can be moved forward to a kicking or sitting position by applying sutlicient force to cause the rivet heads 16 to ride out of their respective holes or depressions 17 (against the pressure of springs 18), the rounded rivet heads then merely sliding on the surface of the discs 10 to any desired adjusted position. When moved forward to a sitting position the legs will separate slightly because they rotate around the inclined axes perpendicular to the planes of the steeply' slanted leg openings; such separation of the legs (widest at the feet) enables the doll to be set on a hat surface without danger of falling side- Because the legs are journaled directly in the leg openings of the body it is not necessary to provide additional supports or leg mounting members as in Gardel and Rogovin Patent No. 2,736,135, for example, and the only part of the mechanism supported directly on the body is the rocker rod 21 with its grommet 22 and plate 26 arranged, as noted above, to compensate tor a substantial range of variations in the length of the body. The plate 26 is shown and described as bridging the neck opening 2 so as to form a support for the upper end 21 of the rod 21; if the doll body should be of a type having no neck opening, the plate 26, in the same form or suitably modified could still be used, or the rod could be similarly supported in the upper portion of the doll body serving as a structural equivalent for the plate.

It will be understood that various changes maybe made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A doll and walking mechanism therefor comprising, a hollow doll body having circular leg openings and an upper portion, legs journaled in said leg openings, each leg having a substantially circular aperture in its upper end, and Walking mechanism having some elements mounted on each of said legs and some elements mounted on said body, the elements mounted on each leg including a base part in t-he form of a metal disc extending across the circular aperture, projections integral with said disc and extending through the aperture to engage the leg and fix the disc thereto, a lever rotatably secured to said base part for rotation about .the axis of rotation of the leg and extending upward into the doll body, and means for frictionally resisting relative rotation of said lever and said base part, and the elements mounted on the body including a rocker engaging the upwardly ex- Vgromrnet slidably tending parts of the levers and an axle on which the rocker is mounted.

2. A doll and walking mechanism according to claim 1 which includes a positivev stop means projecting upwardly from the base part for limiting the movement of the lever relative to the disc in one direction.

3. A doll and walkingmechanism according to claim 1 in which the rocker axle is a rod extending lengthwise of the doll body from a point adjacent the bottom of the body to a point adjacent the neck opening and terminating at said points, and which includes rod mounting means permitting limited axial movement of said rod.

4. A doll and walking mechanism according to claim 3 in which the rod mounting means includes an elongated iXed in a hole in the bottom of the doll body and a spring urging said grommet inwardly, the rod being fitted in the bore of the grommet and being provided with a stop to limit its penetration of said bore.

5. In a doll walking mechanism, a sub-assembly which includes a metal disc, projections integral therewith and extending therefrom and adapted to be bent into engagement with a doll leg to fix the disc thereon, a pin having one end fixed t-o the center of the disc and having a head at its other end, a lever having a part lying parallel to the plane of the disc and pivotally mounted on the pin and a part extending angularly away from the disc, and a spring bearing Iat one end against the head of the pin and urging the iirst named lever part strongly toward the disc.

6. In a kdoll walking mechanism, a sub-assembly according to claim 5 which includes a positive stop means projecting upwardly from the disc in ra position to limit the rotative movement of the lever relative to the disc in one direction.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS 

1. A DOLL AND WALKING MECHANISM THEREFOR COMPRISING, A HOLLOW DOLL BODY HAVING CIRCULAR LEG OPENINGS AND AN UPPER PORTION, LEGS JOURNALED IN SAID LEG OPENINGS, EACH LEG HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR APERTURE IN ITS UPPER END, AND WALKING MECHANISM HAVING SOME ELEMENTS MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID LEGS AND SOME ELEMENTS MOUNTED ON SAID BODY, THE ELEMENTS MOUNTED ON EACH LEG INCLUDING A BASE PART IN THE FORM OF A METAL DISC EXTENDING ACROSS THE CIRCULAR APERTURE, PROJECTIONS INTEGRAL WITH SAID DISC AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE APERTURE TO ENGAGE THE LEG AND FIX THE DISC THERETO, A LEVER ROTATABLY SECURED TO SAID BASE PART FOR ROTATION ABOUT THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE LEG AND EXTENDING UPWARD INTO THE DOLL BODY, AND MEANS FOR FRICTIONALLY RESISTING RELATIVE ROTATION OF SAID LEVER AND SAID BASE PART, AND THE ELEMENTS MOUNTED ON THE BODY INCLUDING A ROCKER ENGAGING THE UPWARDLY EXTENDING PARTS OF THE LEVERS AND AN AXLE ON WHICH THE ROCKER IS MOUNTED. 